scott fitzgerald

In July 2009, Wisconsin passed a law making it easier for victims of pay discrimination to seek justice in court.

Today, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill repealing the segment of the law:

The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.

In November, the state Senate approved SB 202 , which rolled back this provision. On February, the Assembly did the same . Both were party-line votes in Republican-controlled chambers.

SB 202 was sent to Walker on March 29. He had, according to the state constitution, six days to act on the bill. The deadline was 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The governor quietly signed the bill into law on Thursday, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau, and it is now called Act 219.

Wisconsin voters have put Gov. Walker up for a recall election this summer, along with his lieutenant governor and four of their allies in the state senate. Two of the state senators up for recall, Terry Moulton and Pam Galloway, were a primary sponsors of the repeal. The other two, Scott Fitzgerald and Van Wanggard, voted for its passage.

The repeal of the Equal Pay Enforcement Act is just the latest extreme measure pushed through by Gov. Walker and his Tea Party allies, including an attack on collective bargaining rights, a measure to take away care from 12,000 low-income women served by Planned Parenthood clinics, and a restrictive Voter ID law that has already resulted in voters being turned away from the polls.